It’s tofu, omg…

 (Serves 2) Tofu is a staple in vegan diets, I haven’t posted a recipe including it yet so I’m now rectifying this shameful travesty. It might look like a tasteless, weird, wobbly block of nothingness but once you get the hang of cooking with it you can make it crunchy and crispy in savoury dishes and even use silken tofu to make creamy puddings. Protein rich and also a good source of calcium, it is made from curdling soya milk to form curds which are pressed together. A very similar process to how cheese is made. And because I said I wanted to tell you more about Punjabi recipes, I had a go at making a paneer style karahi dish. Traditionally cooked in an iron, flat bottomed wok (a karahi), quite a dry curry made with ground chilli powder and fresh peppers.

Tofu takes on the flavours of your marinade – without any seasoning it really does taste like wobbly nothingness. I used nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt, let it sit in that for a couple of days in the fridge to create a paneery flavour. The salt helped to draw out extra liquid to give it a firmer, more paneer-like texture and the lemon gave it a slight tang. 

Now if you haven’t come across nutritional yeast before, I know those words together hardly conjure up mouth watering images of decadent food… but it’s seriously good! It is a deactivated yeast (so it doesn’t have leavening abilities – it won’t make your food expand during cooking!). It has this cheesy, nutty flavour which hits that umami spot. You can find it in good health food shops for a couple of quid or online for a bit more. Basically, go buy some now so you can have cheesy flavours back in your vegan life. Put it in your pasta dishes, spoon it directly from the tub into your mouth… OR make my lovely Indian curry dish below…

INGREDIENTS

• 250g firm tofu
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp salt   

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground red chilli powder
• 2 tsp dried fenugreek/methi
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp oil (I use raw virgin coconut, olive oil is fine)
• 400g chopped tomatoes   

METHOD

• Do your magic tofu into paneer prep two days before! Mix the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt and put into a small clear bag/sandwich bag/zip lock bag. Drain your tofu, pat dry with paper towels and dice into bite sized pieces. Put them in the bag and mix well but gently to ensure even coverage. Try to press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Leave it in the fridge for up to three days.
• So a couple of days later… make your curry base. Heat your oil in the wok. Cook the onion and garlic for 5 mins until browned, on a medium heat.
• Add the ginger and spices, continue to cook and stir for 2 more mins until fragrant.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and fresh chilli, stir well. Add the sliced pepper, stir to coat and cook for a further 2 mins.
• Remove your pieces of tofu from the bag and transfer into the pan. Stir gently, again to coat everything. Allow to cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the curry sauce is quite dry and thick and the peppers are tender. The tofu will hold its shape and cook in the sauce.  
• EAT IT! I ate mine with some brown rice. Lovely stuff.

This tasted great. The initial tofu marinade did give it the mild cheesy taste and texture I was hoping for, and then it was cooked again in the curry spices which added even more flavour. Tofu is a flavour sponge and making fake paneer is my new favourite thing to do with it. Might become yours too?

S.x